Halloween Hollow Brought Kids to Downtown Reno for Costume Fun

RENO, Nev. -- Hundreds of families came out for the 6th annual Riverwalk Merchant's Halloween Hollow in downtown Reno Saturday.

Halloween is still days away but that didn't mean kids had to wait to wear their costumes. All over the Riverwalk area you could hear children chiming, "Trick or treat!"

Reno resident Shannon Bell likes the early event. "It's nice that they offer a little more than just on the day of Halloween."

The Halloween Hollow gave kids a chance to earn a little extra candy by walking around the river instead of their neighborhoods. "It's a neat event," said Bell. "It's free. It gets you in the community."

Drussillia Garcia of the Riverwalk Merchants Association tells KOLO 8 News Now it's a way to get more people to the area. "A lot of people don't come to the Riverwalk so it lets them come down and see what it's turned into."

For parents, it also provides something even more important: safety. "There's a lot of places in town where kids can't go trick or treating," said Garcia.

Bell adds that the timing of the event is important. "It's nice that it's light out and you kind of know there's a lot of police around so even though it's downtown it doesn't feel like downtown."

Anthony Allen of Reno agrees. "Well you definitely gotta be safe on Halloween. You don't know what's out there, who's out there. And for the parents and the community to get together and do something for the kids a couple of days before Halloween is good."

With face painting, cotton candy, and games, the free event was a tempting treat.

Garcia: "So not only are they doing the trick or treating, but they're listening to music, they get to go in bounce houses. It's like one great big package."

But that won't stop some people from pounding the pavement on Wednesday night in an effort to get more candy. Allen: "We'll definitely do the one hour traditional trick or treating but this is more fun. [girl toddler squealing] Look, she's like, 'I gotta go get my candy!'"

The kids at this year's event sent out a big "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" to everyone.

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